Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation

4-2023

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

M. Eng.

Department

Bioengineering

Committee Chair

Frieboes, Hermann

Committee Co-Chair (if applicable)

Altimarpak, Nihat

Committee Member

Altimarpak, Nihat

Committee Member

Roussel, Thomas

Author's Keywords

HIPEC, CAD, CFD

Abstract

Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is a procedure that targets abdominal tumors in the intraperitoneal space. During the procedure, chemotherapy heated to 40-43oC is cycled through the abdomen for 1 to 2 hours. Although a majority of studies have focused on clinical outcomes, the dynamics of the intra-abdominal flow remain poorly understood. Consequently, it has been difficult to gauge the tumor targeting efficacy, which depends critically on temperature and chemotherapy flow rates. This study establishes a computational framework to evaluate the dynamics of fluid flow during HIPEC, with the goal to enable optimization of tumor drug exposure. A computer aided design (CAD) model of the intraperitoneal cavity was created using SOLIDWORKS coupled with computational fluid dynamics analysis through Ansys Fluent. Probes to measure temperature and flow were placed in the simulated abdomen at seven areas of interest: under the root of the mesentery, deep pelvis, behind the stomach, behind and under the liver, and between the colon and small bowel. Flow was simulated through catheters placed in forward (superior inlet) and reverse (inferior inlet) directions. Baseline 800cc/min and a 40% increase in flow (1120cc/min) were evaluated under these conditions. The results highlight the potential heterogeneity in temperatures and flow at the various locations of interest as a function of chemotherapy flow rate and direction. The outcome of this study showed that the reverse flow direction (inferior inlets) was optimal compared to forward flow direction (superior inlets) based on temperature distribution over time at the desired probe locations, and should be used in HIPEC treatments going forward, along with an increased flow rate, 1120cc/min. This work represents a first step to in determining optimal input flow rate and flow direction to achieve efficacious tumor targeting during the HIPEC treatment.

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